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The laws of cricket are changing to include gender neutral terms.

'Batsman' and 'batsmen' will be replaced by 'batter' and 'batters'.

The rule changes have been announced by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord's cricket ground, and is recognised as the sole authority on cricket's laws.

The club's assistant secretary, Jamie Cox, said they'd taken the decision to update the terminology in a bid to achieve greater inclusivity.

"MCC believes in cricket being a game for all and this move recognises the changing landscape of the game in modern times.

"Use of the term 'batter' is a natural evolution in our shared cricketing language and the terminology has already been adopted by many of those involved in the sport.

"It is the right time for this adjustment to be recognised formally and we are delighted, as the guardians of the laws, to announce these changes."

The women's game has grown at all levels around the world in recent years, following the 2017 World Cup which was won by England.

In 2020, a record international crowd saw Australia defeat India in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne.

And earlier this year, Lord's broke the record for a domestic women's match as 17,116 watched Oval Invincibles beat Southern Brave in the final of The Hundred.

Alex Hartley, the 2017 Women's World Cup winner and Lancashire captain, gave a defiant response to critics of the move to make the terms gender neutral.

She tweeted: "Some of the comments on this post make me angry. If you hate it, grow up. Cricket is a sport for everyone and this is a small but big move."